You’ll want to arrive early if you have a ticket for Network—because the show actually begins 30 minutes before “curtain time.” That traditional convention of naming the hour at which the play begins is suitable here, for Network at Invictus Theatre is set 50 years in the past. Although its source is our media history, its ideas and anticipation of reality-based programming are relevant today in the age of the internet. The play itself demands your attention throughout as well; it’s the story of a public figure—a TV news host—gone mad with grief and anger.
Director Charles Ashkenaizer (Three Sisters, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf) proves his mettle once again as a skilled theater-maker with this three-ring circus of a play. The 1976 film (screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky) features the screed by the iconic character Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch), “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more!” Lee Hall’s 2018 stage adaptation builds on Chayefsky’s screenplay; Hall notes in his introduction that “almost every word in the adaptation is actually Paddy’s.”
James Turano (George in Virginia Woolf) is on fire as Howard Beale, beginning as a standard-issue 1970s TV anchor. “Good evening. It is Monday, September the twenty-second 1975, and I am Howard Beale. Today, a shot was fired at President Ford's motorcade in San Francisco.” But Beale soon realizes the emptiness of his news role and acknowledges his declining ratings. He’s also suffering from a personal loss and expresses his angst in alcohol-driven rage. He turns from telling the news to admitting to the audience “I just ran out of bullshit.” He reaches out to his viewers to shout his grievances and encourage them to express their own. “Get up from your chairs! Open your windows! Stick out your head and yell. And keep yelling. ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more.’ ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more.””
Although it seems he’s in danger of losing his job, the network bosses realize the audience appeal of Beale’s rants when his ratings start to climb. His show is no longer the nightly news; it’s The Howard Beale Show. And we, the theater audience, is now his studio audience. That plot drives the drama of Network, as we meet a suite of network suits who don’t always agree on what’s best for the station.
Late in the play, the network head (Patrick Blashill) foretells the future in lecturing an underling. “Television isn't the 'future' of anything, television is the past. You seem under some 1960s delusion that the medium is the message. It is 'ideas' that are important … good old-fashioned, immaterial ideas that exist with or without television…. Television is (just) hardware.”
Various subplots spice up the action, such as a personal relationship between Howard’s drinking buddy, Max, the news division chief (Chuck Munro) and marketing executive Diana (the Faye Dunaway role, played by Anne Trodden), who champions Howard’s soaring ratings…until she doesn’t. A looming network takeover by foreign investors adds further complications.
The fun aspect of Network is watching an almost-real television station at work, complete with the 50-year-old clunky camera and sound equipment—acquired from whatever broadcast graveyard where those antiques live—and staffed by actors who look as if they know what they’re doing. And they do, because the program’s news broadcasts as well as dramatic conversations are not only on stage but projected on a block of screens on the rear wall. Another pleasure is watching out-of-the-past video light up those screens. You can see cereal commercials with Tony the Tiger or Snap! Crackle! Pop!, sit-coms and TV dramas (Hill Street Blues and Kojak, anyone?) plus talk shows too. Those screens are only momentary distractions, however, because the brisk action on stage demands your attention. Don’t blink or you’ll miss something.
Director Askenaizer is masterful at keeping the action moving, with quick scene changes and prop placement by the crew. Scenic design and technical direction are by Kevin Rolfs and set dressing and props design by Rachel Livingston. Sound design is by Petter Wahlbäck. Lighting and technical consulting are by Chad Lussier. Jessie Gowens is costume designer. Hanna Smaglis is stage manager.
Paddy Chayefsky, considered one of the most influential dramatists of the late 20th century, was known for his attention to the human condition in his film masterpieces Network, Marty and The Hospital, all of which won Academy Awards for Best Screenplay. He also wrote many scripts for stage and television. Lee Hall’s stage adaptation of Network premiered in London in 2017 and on Broadway in 2018, with Bryan Cranston playing Howard Beale.
Network by Invictus Theatre Company continues through September 29 at Windy City Playhouse, 3014 W. Irving Park Rd. Running time is two hours with one intermission. Tickets are $25-$45 for performances Friday-Monday.
For more information on this and other plays, see theatreinchicago.com.
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